N.F.C. South Preview: Saints, Stained by Scandal, Have Staying Power

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Drew Brees will lead the Saints offense.
Player to Watch
Itís possible that no quarterback has had to shoulder as much as the Saintsí Drew Brees will this season with Coach Sean Payton suspended and the interim coach Joe Vitt ...

Player to Watch
Itís possible that no quarterback has had to shoulder as much as the Saintsí Drew Brees will this season with Coach Sean Payton suspended and the interim coach Joe Vitt benched for the first six games.

Game to Watch
New Orleans at Green Bay, Sept. 30. This would be a marquee game featuring the leagueís most explosive offenses under any conditions. It will be fascinating to see whether the absence of a coach will even matter to the Saints.

IS IT RIDICULOUS TO THINK the New Orleans Saints can win the division without a coach? Not really, because the Saints remain the most talented team in the division, and they made the smart decision to replace the interim head coach with the offensive line coach, Aaron Kromer, and keep the coordinators with their units. Drew Brees, the unquestioned leader of the team, and the person who shares an offensive brain with Sean Payton, will keep the unit humming with the dazzling tight end Jimmy Graham and receivers Marques Colston and Devery Henderson. The new defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, will be in charge of improving a unit whose best days, 2009, look like an aberration. New Orleans was next to last in turnovers forced last year and 24th in total yards allowed. Spagnuolo will have to fix the pass rush without end Will Smith, who is suspended for the first four games, but he has a revamped linebacking unit. (Jonathan Vilma, who is fighting his yearlong suspension in court, would probably not start even if he was allowed to return.) The offense will give Spagnuolo some breathing room, though, by scoring many points. Still, this season will test the Saintsí leadership and focus, and it is nearly impossible to predict what will happen. The rest of the division is improved. But the Saints have shown resilience before and nobody would be surprised if they do so again.